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La Liga Pressing Charges Against PSG for Economic Cheating

Javier Tebas: We have seen that PSG have invested more than any other club in the last five years; Their real income cannot justify the investments so they have fictitious sponsors; The revenues are directly or indirectly related to the Qatari state and

La Liga, the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system, do not want Paris Saint-Germain competing in the Champions League and Javier Tebas, the current president of Liga, is said to have even filed a complaint to UEFA in August with a complete study that shows the Ligue 1 side are financed by the state of Qatar.

Anger was sparked in the Spanish top-flight’s establishment when Neymar was plucked by Les Parisiens for $260 million with league chief Tebas adamant that something was amiss, Marca reported.

French newspaper L’Equipe published a report on Monday outlining the complaints made by La Liga against PSG.

“We have seen that PSG have invested more than any other club in the last five years,” Tebas was quoted as saying. “Their real income cannot justify these investments so they have fictitious sponsors, related to the state, with amounts that are bigger than those of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester United. The revenues are directly or indirectly related to the Qatari state and PSG are continuing to cheat economically.”

In the 44-page report, La Liga have reportedly pointed out that PSG have invested far more than any other clubs - in recent years - $400m in 2014, compared to Manchester United’s $275m, Real Madrid’s $260m and Barcelona’s $215m.

La Liga came to the conclusion that Qatar’s sponsorship of the side is 73% more significant than that of United, Real and Barcelona.

Tebas’ report has already initiated an investigation, and La Liga intend to initiate further action against the club, as well as possibly taking the case to the European Union.

“We will wait until the end of the year to see what UEFA does,” Tebas said. “If nothing happens, we will complain to the EU because this should not continue. If we discover that they are guilty, they should not compete in the Champions League.”

Financial Fair Play

Prior to these charges UEFA has opened a Financial Fair Play (FFP) investigation into Paris Saint-Germain, following their activities in the transfer window this summer.

The investigation will delve into the club’s dealings after they spent a world-record fee of $263m to bring Neymar to the club from Barcelona, as well as landing Kylian Mbappe for $192m from Monaco.

The FFP is about improving the overall financial health of European club football. It was approved in 2010 and the first assessments kicked off in 2011. Since then clubs that have qualified for UEFA competitions have to prove they do not have overdue payables towards other clubs, their players and social/tax authorities throughout the season. In other words, they have to prove they have paid their bills.

Since 2013, clubs have also been assessed against break-even requirements, which require clubs to balance their spending with their revenues and restricts clubs from accumulating debt.

In assessing this, the independent Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) analyses each season three years’ worth of club financial figures, for all clubs in UEFA competitions. The first sanctions and conditions for clubs not fulfilling the break-even requirement were set following this first assessment in May 2014. The conditions relating to non-compliance with break-even requirements were effective for the 2014/15 campaign.